James Longstreet's Unfiltered Opinions about Battles and Generals in 1862

James Longstreet was a prolific chronicler of his experience in the American Civil War. He wrote on the topic extensively, from articles in Century Magazine to his own well-known memoir, From Manassas to Appomattox. Thus, many of Longstreet’s postwar thoughts on the events he participated in and the soldiers he led and fought alongside are well-known.

During my research, I stumbled upon an article from the Washington Post in 1893. Newspaper correspondent Leslie J. Perry accompanied Longstreet and other Civil War veterans to the Antietam battlefield, where the old soldiers traveled “to definitely settle the positions of some of the general’s troops during the battle of September 17, 1862.” Perry claimed Longstreet’s mind was still strong in his 73rd year, but his right arm hung limply and useless from the general’s shoulder due to his wound at the Battle of the Wilderness and he had to use a “speaking tube” to hear the conversations around him.

Perry had the privilege to hear Longstreet talk “unreservedly” about many topics related to the war. Perry recognized the value of Longstreet’s words and thankfully for posterity wrote them down. Fortunately, too, Longstreet did not mind them being printed.

The article is quite long, and Perry queried Longstreet’s opinion on topics ranging from battles to leaders to the Confederate prosecution of the war. Since most of my interest is in 1862, I have edited out sections not relevant to that topic. Below are the excerpts of Perry’s conversation with Longstreet related to Antietam, Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan, Jefferson Davis, Second Manassas, “Stonewall” Jackson, and more.

Note: I have used ellipses to indicate where I skipped transcribing sections of the article to keep the post relevant to 1862 topics.

A postwar image of James Longstreet.

A Game of Numbers: Robert E. Lee's Assumptions about the Federal Garrisons in the Shenandoah Valley

     Standing and fighting at Sharpsburg. Pickett's Charge. Each of these decisions could rightfully be labeled as Robert E. Lee's greatest mistake during his Civil War career. But one that often flies under the radar is the decision Lee made earlier in the Maryland Campaign to divide his army and send a large portion of it into the Shenandoah Valley to subdue the Federal garrisons positioned in Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. A bold plan to be sure, this plan alone was not the undoing of Lee's campaign. Instead, it was the assumptions he made about how quickly his soldiers could open the Confederate supply line in the Shenandoah Valley.

Robert E. Lee

     Robert E. Lee was aware of the Union garrisons in the Valley before his men set foot on Maryland soil. But his crossings near Leesburg armed him with the belief that his intervention between those garrisons and Washington City and Baltimore would force the evacuations of Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. It did not. Before Lee could advance his army farther north into Pennsylvania, he had to deal with the enemy in his rear to open the Valley as a supply route and, if needed, route of retreat back to Virginia.
     On the evening of September 9, 1862, staff officers and couriers emanated from Lee's headquarters outside of Frederick. The riders delivered multiple copies of Special Orders No. 191 to Lee's subordinates. The orders outlined the division of the Army of Northern Virginia into multiple pieces, three of which, led by Stonewall Jackson, Lafayette McLaws, and John Walker, would take different routes to intercept, destroy, or capture the enemy garrisons at Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. When the orders went into effect the next day, Lee anticipated that these three wings would wrap up the operations in the Valley quickly--perhaps as early as September 12--before the army reunited and continued on its trek north.

Alexander Lawton's Brigade (CS)

Alexander Lawton’s Brigade

Commanded by Col. Marcellus Douglass (13^th Georgia Infantry)

Ewell’s Division, Jackson’s Command

13^th Georgia Infantry

361 men commanded by Capt. D.A. Kidd

26^th Georgia Infantry

188 men commanded by Col. Edmund N. Atkinson

31^st Georgia Infantry

145 men commanded by Lieut. Col. John Terrell Crowder

38^th Georgia Infantry

123 men commanded by Capt. William Henry Battey

60^th Georgia Infantry

154 men commanded by Maj. Waters Burras Jones

61^st Georgia Infantry

242 men commanded by Col. John Hill Lamar

Lawton's Brigade War Department Tablet located on the south side of Cornfield Ave.